PM Modi Backs Nitish Kumar as NDA's Face for Bihar Assembly Elections 2025

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared Friday that the National Democratic Alliance, led by Nitish Kumar, will shatter all previous records and secure a sweeping victory in next month's Bihar Assembly election. Speaking at a campaign rally in Samastipur, Modi referred to the Chief Minister's popular 'sushasan babu' nickname.

"Entire Bihar is saying 'phir ek baar NDA sarkar... phir ek baar sushasan sarkar'," the Prime Minister stated, officially launching the coalition's election campaign in Bihar.

This marks the first instance where the Prime Minister has explicitly mentioned contesting the election with Nitish Kumar as the campaign's face, though this does not necessarily confirm Kumar will return as Chief Minister should the BJP-JDU alliance retain power.

The statement follows a pointed challenge from the Mahagathbandhan alliance regarding the BJP's apparent hesitation to name a chief ministerial candidate, unlike the opposition which has officially nominated Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav as their candidate for the position.

During the announcement of Yadav's candidacy, Ashok Gehlot, who had been dispatched to Bihar to resolve leadership issues between his party and the RJD, directly questioned the NDA: "I want to ask Amit Shah... our leader is Tejashwi Yadav. Now they should confirm who is their Chief Minister face."

Yadav, who previously served twice as Nitish Kumar's deputy, asserted that Home Minister Amit Shah's recent comment—that NDA leaders would "sit together and decide" on the chief minister after winning—suggested Nitish Kumar's tenure might be coming to an end.

The JDU leader's political future has become a topic of speculation leading up to this election, with opposition parties taunting him over his allies' reluctance to formally name him as their leader.

Earlier this month, Yadav questioned Nitish Kumar's mental health and fitness following a widely circulated video showing Kumar repeatedly greeting the Prime Minister.

The JDU has consistently maintained that Nitish Kumar—already Bihar's longest-serving chief minister—will continue in this role. In April, as speculation about his future intensified, the party installed large posters across Patna asserting that Kumar would remain chief minister until 2030, when he will be 79 years old.

These posters emerged after BJP leader Nayab Singh Saini, the Haryana Chief Minister, commented about the BJP winning this election "under the leadership of Samrat Choudhary," who currently serves as one of Bihar's two deputy chief ministers.

During his address, the Prime Minister also highlighted the BJP's development initiatives in Bihar over the past five years, stating, "There is not a single corner where the BJP isn't carrying out development work."

"Bihar is now an attractive investment destination. I foresee a future in which every district will be teeming with local start-ups... all this would not have been possible had there been 'jungle raj' in Bihar," he added, making one of several references to the RJD of former Chief Minister Lalu Yadav.

Bihar will hold elections in two phases: November 6 and November 11. Results will be announced on November 14.